1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sealing element having a sealing body of silicone for use in motor vehicles, especially for openable motor vehicle roofs.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of motor vehicles, silicone seals are known which are provided with a plug-in foot by means of which they can be inserted at the application site. This type of attachment however entails a large amount of space and is a disadvantage in this respect.
German Utility Model DE G 94 17 149 discloses a sealing element with a sealing body of elastic material which has an adhesive surface by means of which it is attached to the bottom of the cover of a sliding roof, a lifting roof or on its frame. The adhesive surface is formed on an adhesive tape which is attached with its back to a base body which is connected to the sealing body and is made of a stiffer material than the sealing body. Before attaching the seal, the adhesive surface is protected with a removable protective film.
Similar sealing elements are furthermore known from German Patent DE 197 20 713 C1 and published European Patent Application EP 0 357 973 B1. German Patent DE 197 20 713 C1 names EPDM as the preferred material for the sealing body. However, this material is not optimum with respect to temperature resistance, restoration behavior, seal properties and is susceptible to the danger of freezing and sticking together.
The primary object of this invention is to devise a sealing element for use in motor vehicles which can be attached easily, quickly, and economically in terms of installation space and still has good properties with respect to temperature resistance, restoration behavior, seal properties and the danger of freezing and sticking together, etc.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that the sealing element is provided with a self-sticking adhesive surface for attachment to the application site.
In the approach according to the invention, it is advantageous that the sealing body of silicone has outstanding properties in terms of temperature resistance, restoration behavior, seal properties and danger of freezing and sticking together and still the sealing element can be easily attached quickly and with little space requirement at the application site while, for example, when the sealing body is cemented directly to the application site by means of silicone cement, as a consequence of the resulting long setting time, it could not be used in series production. The invention overcomes a prejudgment of the technical world according to which the advantages of a silicone seal cannot be combined with simple installation using a self-sticking adhesive surface provided on the seal.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive surface is formed, for example, by an acrylate adhesive and is protected by a removable protective film before attachment of the seal. Furthermore, the adhesive surface is preferably made planar and is provided on a carrier element which, for its part, is cemented to the sealing body, and this cementing can be formed by a silicone cement. The carrier element is preferably formed by a flexible strip, and the adhesive surface can extend essentially over the entire length of the sealing body. The sealing body is preferably an elongated extrusion section which can surround a cavity.
One embodiment of the invention is explained below, by way of example, using the attached drawing which shows a cross section through a sealing element in accordance with the invention.